Through Michelle’s partnership with EveryOne Free (sex trafficking organization which seeks to bring awareness, prevention and restoration to survivors of trafficking) she was recently able to celebrate another survivor taking steps to a new beginning! Michelle is the case manager for EveryOne Free and connects with the survivors to help them find the resources they need to start their new lives (housing, GED, resume writing, college, therapy, etc..). *Rachel is one of the ladies who went through the 20-week diversion program we run in partnership with a Pomona public defender and the Pomona courthouse. After completing our 20-week diversion program they can apply for a grant from us to go to continue their education and start a new beginning. *Rachel has been such a joy to work with and is so strong. She is a mama of 2 and working hard to provide a wonderful life for her babies. She recently completed her first set of makeup classes and is beginning the second semester of classes. Her dream is to have her own beauty salon and be able to work her own hours in order to be able to be with her children as well.
We are finishing up our second block of diversion classes for 2022! Please pray for the 5 women involved with us. They have been working hard in their healing. The program covers an intervention curriculum, Strengthsfinder, Boundaries, Job skills, Resume writing, Personal Finance, Therapy and more. There are definite ups and downs, but it has been so encouraging to see ladies seek help and healing and for Michelle to be able to share the love of Jesus with them as well as resources to serve them. One woman *Emily recently shared with Michelle how she loves our weekly diversion classes, that it is the highlight of her week. She has been overcoming so much. She shared how her mom and sister recently told her how proud they are of her, and they have seen so many Big changes in her life. It is wonderful to see joy restored and hope in the ladies’ hearts.
“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.” Luke 4:18-19
“Be Still and Know that I am God.” (Psalm 46:10)
These past few months have definitely been emotional and a whirlwind. This verse has been a constant in our lives recently. Trusting and Knowing God is in control… that we can seek Him and Be Still when our hearts, worries and emotions are racing. These words from the Lord have felt more real than ever before. Joseph is continuing to do well with his healing. It has been a long 6 weeks, but he has regained most of his energy and has healed remarkable well. We are so thankful. He passed his first psa blood test with the cancer being undetectable! We are continuing to meet with a couple more oncologists and he will continue to be monitored every few months through blood tests. Thank you for all your prayers—our hearts and souls are so thankful.
In the midst of our Fall the kiddos have been growing up too fast for our hearts. Jessica recently had her senior homecoming dance—and is now applying for colleges! Daniel was recognized at his college for earning one of the highest top 5 scores for Microsoft Office, was given an award and asked to be on a panel with students and faculty sharing wisdom with other business students. Aleeya is enjoying 5th grade and her soccer team Brazils! She is a fast little runner! And Luke is finishing up his last semester at Cal Poly! Our boy is about to graduate!!!
Our family has definitely grown closer to the Lord and one another through the trials this Fall. But we are thankful to see how the Lord has met each one of us in different ways and how He is working in all of our lives, we are reminded to continue to BE STILL AND KNOW HE IS GOD. Raising children is a rollercoaster at times but He loves them more than we ever could, and we continue to place them in His hands and trust Him for their lives.
Thank you for your prayers, encouragement and support to us. We are so very thankful.
Many of you saw our recent email asking for prayers. In August we received the news that Joseph has high risk/aggressive prostate cancer. As you can imagine our lives were turned upside down and it became a whirlwind of appointments, scans, bloodwork, research and numerous calls to find a surgeon who could see him ASAP. On September 12th he had surgery to remove the prostate and is on the road to recovery. The pathology report done after the surgery showed the cancer had spread into the thin capsule covering the prostate and the right seminal vesicle but this capsule, both sides of the seminal vesicles and the lymph nodes were surgically removed. The margins/edges of the prostate were clear/benign, so the surgeon has removed all the cancer! There will be regular PSA tests to monitor if the PSA is below the appropriate/undetectable level and does not increase at any time. We are sooooo thankful that the reports show the surgeon removed all the cancer and no radiation is needed!! Praise Jesus for His merciful love – He is healing Joseph and we are praying for no recurrence of cancer.
It has been amazing to see the Lord’s very real presence through this all. From finding the cancer, being connected with top urologists, surgeons, gracious technicians and nurses. We have truly felt the prayers of so many carrying us through a time where we were in deep shock and sadness. We are so thankful for the love of family and friends in prayer, meals, help, gifts –we are blessed with love. Thank you!
Joseph’s Amazing Surgeon
The Lord is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love.Psalm 103:8
(Joseph’s thoughts) …. After the shock of being diagnosed with prostate cancer, an overwhelming fear of the unknown overcame me.
1 John 4:18 says that perfect love drives out fear. So, my focus was trusting in God’s love for me in this journey with prostate cancer. In Psalm 103:8 the Hebrew word for love is “hesed”, which means faithful love, loyal love, steadfast love or unfailing love. In my meditation and study, I learned that when Biblical scholars translated the Old Testament into Greek (The Septuagint), they did not translate the Hebrew word “hesed” into the Greek word “agape” with stands for God’s unconditional love. But instead, the majority of time “hesed” was translated into the Greek word “eleos”, which means mercy.
When someone is in need of forgiveness or acceptance, it is “agape” – God’s unconditional and sacrificial love that humans need. But when someone is suffering and could potentially suffer more, it is “hesed” love or “eleos” in Greek—God’s merciful love that suffering people need. This is exactly what I needed and received from God and from many Christian friends. This meditation has ministered to me deeply and changed me from the inside.
The love that I needed to face all the multiple circumstances and fearful unknowns was God’s merciful love that casts out my fears concerning my cancer diagnosis. I am thanking God for his kindness and merciful love. May God use me in the future when I interact with suffering people. May God’s merciful love be manifest in me to bring comfort to them.
Thank you so much for your prayers and support for us to travel to Milwaukee, Wisconsin this summer for our Cru22 conference. We gathered with over 5,000 staff and families from around the nation to be challenged, encouraged and trained. It was encouraging to hear and receive a larger picture of how the Lord was working around the world as well. The main focus of the conference was our commitment to the Great Commission and reaching every person with the Gospel and love of Jesus.
Our girls loved being a part of the Cru Kids Program and reconnected with old friends from other states and made many new friends. They also had worship, teaching and fun throughout the conference.
Thank you again for making it possible for us to be a part of this!
Aleeya had a great counselor she loved and even knew ASL!
Joseph helped lead the Cru Church Movements days at the conference as well. There was also a panel he was a part of sharing about multiplying missional communities in churches and planting more churches.
Summer has come to an end, and we are transitioning to back to school. Jessica is now a Senior in High School and I’m not sure we are ready for this! Luke is finishing up his last semester at Cal Poly, Daniel is starting his third year in college and Aleeya is now 5th Grade!
Sadly, we lost our 13 year old pup this month as well—which has been very hard. We are so thankful for the years God blessed us with her—as she grew up with the kids and was a large part of our family.
Thank you for your prayers, support & encouragement to us! We appreciate you so very much. Please let us know if we can be praying for you in anyway as well.
We continue to partner with Christ First Espanol church for outreaches to the community of Covina. We hosted the performer, Olga Breeskin, from Mexico. Olga had a nightly act in Mexico City for years as well as her own show in Las Vegas. She is a renown dancer and violinist. Through her success she fell into alcoholism and drugs and started having panic attacks, anxiety, nightmares and depression. The day before she planned to commit suicide a friend invited her to a Christian retreat—where she fell in love with Jesus and was given hope once again.
Olga came to share her story and music through our outreach. We rented out the theater at a local high school and we saw over 150 attend—with 10 people accepting the Lord that evening! Pray for the new believer classes that Pastor Marco has started utilizing Cru discipleship material.
Joseph recently had the opportunity to install a pastor at one church we work closely with, Solid Rock in Claremont. Pastor Hunter had been in charge of missional communities and leadership development the past few years but recently has become the lead pastor at Solid Rock. Joseph was able to help install him as he now is the pastor for Preaching and Vision overseeing preaching and the direction and vision of the church. It has been encouraging to see Hunter developed these past years and grow in a position to lead the church.
FAMILY UPDATE!
The years continue to fly! Everyone is on summer vacation from school now—Luke has only 1 more semester of college left. Daniel finished his second year—Jessica is now a Senior in High School and Aleeya will be in 5th grade!! The boys are continuing with work this summer, Jessica is practicing for her driver’s license and Aleeya is active in swim lessons and has become FAST!
We are preparing for our Cru22 Staff Conference in Wisconsin in July soon. Thank you for all your support, encouragement and prayers for us. Thank you also for your gifts to help us raise the funds we need for travel, lodging, food and conference fees. We are still in the process of raising the $4600 in special gifts if you are able to help in anyway. Thank you so much.
Church Planting… According to Faithward, “New churches are the most effective means to reach spiritually disconnected people. Church plants are significantly more likely to draw non-Christians than established churches. A 2015 Lifeway Research study found that 42 percent of church plant attendees previously weren’t part of a church. By contrast, as high as 90 percent of new members in established churches are transfers from another congregation.”
Joseph recently finished a time of church planting assessments with NAMB (North America Mission Board). He is a coach overseeing the assessors of new church planters. Nine church planters were assessed over the weekend. These planters had hearts to begin new churches in Anaheim, Nipomo, South Central Los Angeles, Los Angeles and other cities within Southern California. The assessment gauges their readiness to become a church planter covering three main areas: their church planting capacity, personal character and marriage health (if they are married). The planters learn about their strengths and weaknesses and through support and encouragement they talk through and are assessed in their calling, emotional and spiritual health, family dynamics, vision, leadership, communication, missional engagement, disciple-making and social skills.
One of the church planters assessed was Pastor Jofri and his wife, Michelle. They live in Anaheim and have a huge heart to share the love of Jesus with MMA (mixed martial arts) fighters! They have started a church at a local MMA gym through a partnership they formed with the owner of the gym. About a week ago, at the Kings MMA Gym, Pastor Jofri and the gym owner did an outreach to reach out to the MMA community. 7 men gave their hearts to Jesus and 5 others were baptized! 2 additional men approached Pastor Jofri afterwards and said they wanted to be baptized as well. It was a powerful night of worship, the UFC owner sharing his story and faith and Pastor Jofri sharing the gospel afterwards. We praise God for these changed lives and that Joseph has been blessed to be a part of helping pastors like Pastor Jofri reach their communities and be encouraged and equipped as church planters.
Thank you for your prayers, support & encouragement to us! We appreciate you so very much. Please let us know if we can be praying for you in anyway as well.
Jesus answered, “If I want him to remain alive until I return, what is that to you? You must follow me.”(John 21:22)
This Valentines weekend we saw 14 people come to know Jesus as their personal Savior! Joseph and Pastor Marco from Christ First Espanol in Covina have been meeting for months planning and praying for this event focusing on friendship and love. We wanted to hold it in the Downtown Performing Arts Theater so the community would feel more welcomed to come, as opposed to coming to a church. We rented out the local theater that held 144 seats and sold out all the tickets—having 165 people in attendance! From those who came we learned that 30% were from the community, not the church. This was the highest attendance of unbelievers we have seen for a local outreach. The Valentines event included charcuterie board appetizers, raffle giveaways, 3 drama skit performances and a Gospel presentation on God’s love. Check out the powerful skit here: https://youtu.be/SWMLusuyEQE
We had the outreach in a mixture of Spanish and English and saw 14 people accept Jesus int their lives! Following the outreach 7 of those people have now begun attending Sunday church at Christ First. Two of these new believers are a husband and wife from the community. Anna is the care director for Queen of the Valley Hospital and Foothill Presbyterian Hospital and is so excited about her new faith in Jesus, as well as her husband. Everyone who attended the Valentines event was also given a Bible, invitation to come for Easter and a book on anxiety and hope in Christ. Thank you for your prayers and support for this event. We feel so blessed to be able to see these lives changed and see the Lord moving through the churches we are partnering with to reach their communities.
The Downtown Theater
Freedom Joy Strength Love Hope Perseverance Peace Courage Laughter
Weekly Diversion Class
In the beginning of January Michelle began helping to facilitate on on-line weekly diversion meeting for survivors of sex trafficking. As a case manager for EveryOne Free here in Pomona she is able to connect with these women one-on-one also to connect, encourage and help them with any resources they need to begin new lives (housing, getting their GED, college, counseling/support, legal needs, etc..). The curriculum we are using for the weekly diversion program is called Ending the Game. “Ending The Game is designed to educate and empower survivors of commercial sexual exploitation and trafficking by providing a structure and framework to uncover harmful psychological coercion (a.k.a. “The Game”) that victims may have been subjected to during or before their exploitation experience.” These women have been through so much trauma, pain and questioning God and I (Michelle) love being able to speak God’s truths to them and watch them slowly begin to believe and heal their hearts.
We have 5 women in our weekly class and it has been so powerful to see healing begin the happen in their lives. One weeks focus was on self-defeating thoughts and renewing our minds. As we read a weekly affirmation together the women cry often to hear truths of how special and precious they are. One of the women painted this painting below—her vision of how she wants to feel and see herself as she continues to heal—leaping in the air in true freedom.
Family Update…
Thank you for your prayers and faithful support to us. We are doing well. Luke is in his Senior Year of College—how did that happen so fast, we don’t know. They finally began in-person classes again after being online since the beginning of Covid. Please pray for him as he continues to think about his future and next steps. Daniel is loving his sophomore year and Jessica is finishing up her behind-the-wheel driving classes and will soon get her license! And finally, Aleeya continues to remind us she is a PT (pre-teen) and really wants to do everything her older siblings can do. We covet your prayers for our children as they enter and are in their adult years—that they would draw near to the Lord, experience His presence each day and love Him with all their hearts, soul, strength and minds.
Thank you for your prayers, support & encouragement to us! We appreciate you so very much. Please let us know if we can be praying for you in anyway as well.
“Learn to do right; seek justice. Defend the oppressed. Take up the cause of the fatherless, plead the case of the widow.” Isaiah 1:17
Purse Outreach—This past December, right before Christmas, we were part of a purse outreach in Pomona partnered with a LA County public defender and her team. Michelle is currently part of a diversion team with EveryOne Free here in Pomona. She is serving as their case manager—providing help, hope and healing from Jesus and resources to girls who are seeking help from the sex-trafficking industry. They spent the afternoon on a popular street in Pomona where there is a high population of women in the sex industry. They were able to hand out purses and hygiene items that are so needed, as well as a hotline number to call for help. Throughout the day 18 girls were able to receive a purse with information and were shared with. We praise God that one girl asked for help right at that moment and she was able to be brought to a safe place for help. Another girl called the hotline for help the following day! We are thankful for the girls that we were able to bring hope to and we are thankful to be able to continue to strengthen the partnership the EveryOne Free Diversion team, the police force and public defenders. Please pray for the many girls who received a purse and information—that they would seek help, for the ties of oppression over them to be broken and for their protection on the streets.
Our tables on the sidewalk downtown, filled with purses, hygiene items and blankets
Every One Free Diversion Team (missing one woman)
Salvo Por Gracia (Saved by Grace)
Praise God for new lives in Him! This December Salvo Por Gracia saw 10 people come to know Jesus for the first time and be baptized in Him! Salvo Por Gracia is a bilingual Spanish speaking church plant in Pomona. Pomona is 66% Latino and Joseph helped start this church through the Solid Rock Church Planting network he helped form. The church planting network develops leaders who love the mission of reaching their communities. Pastor Hector was developed here and sent out as a Pastor to form Salvo Por Gracia to reach the Spanish speaking population of Pomona. Joseph continues to meet with Pastor Hector for mentoring and strategic planning.
Through reaching out to the community 10 people came to Christ and were baptized this December! This December Salvo Por Gracia also had a Christmas outreach in the community where they gave presents to the children and shared the gospel message to many families within Pomona. Please pray for Pastor Hector and the church as they share the love of Jesus to the community of Pomona.
Family Update…
We are so thankful for the Lord’s provision and protection over us. We look back upon 2021 (and 2020 as it all is a bit of a blur!) and see His hand so faithfully caring for our family. Through Covid, Luke’s ankle surgery and year-long rehab, navigating online school/college, health issues, releasing college children, puberty, learning to drive, homeschooling, celebrating 22 years of marriage— life has been full emotionally and literally. Thank you for your prayers and faithful support to us. We covet your prayers for our children as they enter and are in their adult years—that they would draw near to the Lord, experience His presence each day and love Him with all their hearts, soul, strength and minds.
Thank you for your prayers, support & encouragement to us! We appreciate you so very much. Please let us know if we can be praying for you in anyway as well.
We recently hosted a Foster Care Info Fair with the Foster Care Coalition that we are a part of. This brother and sister shared their story and how others made a difference in their lives growing up. They shared how a believer sponsored Annie to go to a “Royal Family Kid Camp” where she began to find hope. She then went on to become a Christian in High School. Another believer invited her to church and Annie began to experience a new family for her and her brother. Walt worked hard ever since he was young and paid for his sister’s cross-country fees (she ran to relieve the stress and abuse she felt at home). He also paid for her college at Cal State Fullerton—and she went to graduate with a child development degree.
Only 3% of foster youth graduate college and only 50% graduate from High School.
These foster youth have risen above their circumstances. Because people cared to get involved and love them they came to know Jesus! They experienced a new family of believers in their lives, graduated high school and college and are leading healthy lives now.
We are thankful to be able to be a part of helping foster children find hope. Because of your faithful prayers and support to us we are able to serve full-time and share the love of Jesus here in Los Angeles. To see lives changed.
This gives us great anticipation for all the Lord will do in 2022! He continues to provide opportunities for greater impact and broader scope, and we continue to trust Him for the resources to match that vision. As you may know, year-end giving is significant to our overall budget for our family and ministry here in Los Angeles. This year, we are trusting the Lord for an additional $6,000 in year-end gifts.
We are humbled to continually experience God’s provisions and care for us for these past 23 years in ministry! If you are able to help – you can go to: http://give.cru.org/0487483 and follow the instructions. Or you can text “Joseph Butlig” to 71326 for a link to give online. If you prefer to write a check, please make it payable to ‘Cru’ with our account number #0487483 and mail it to our home. However, the Lord may lead you to respond, we are grateful for all your prayers and support. Thank you!
We hope you have a wonderful Christmas Season celebrating Jesus!
RIGHT NOW…THERE ARE 30,000 CHILDREN IN FOSTER CARE IN LOS ANGELES COUNTY
This November we will be hosting a Foster Care Info Fair in the Los Angeles area. We are excited to be able to hold these once again in person—as they had been on hold due to Covid the past year. We are a part of the Foster Care Coalition here in Los Angeles and Joseph has been meeting and planning with the other leaders for this Info Fair and Ambassador training ! The Mission of the Coalition is: to connect the family of Christ in Los Angeles with the children in foster care who desperately need them. We work to awaken churches and individual Christians to the needs of these kids, and to educate them about the many opportunities to make a difference. Our “Info Fairs” provide an overview of the foster care system, and bring together ministries and agencies that offer a variety of ways to get involved. We also provide a list of local opportunities on our website. In addition, we train interested individuals to be “Foster Care Ambassadors” for their church — designated point people equipped to be a resource for their church, able to provide information and guidance to anyone with a heart for kids living in foster care.
Joseph and members of the coalition planning meeting via zoom for the Info Fair this November
Please pray for this Info Fair and Ambassador Training the beginning of November. That many people would come and gain a heart for these children in Foster Care and desire to be a part of their lives, even in some small way.
The average age of entrance to prostitution is 12-14 years old
Human trafficking is the world’s 3rd largest international crime industry (behind illegal drugs and arms trafficking)
It reportedly generates a profit of 32 BILLION EVERY YEAR.
Survival Panel– 3 survivors sharing their story & how they were helped.
Over 85% are victims of childhood sexual molestation
Michelle was recently asked to become the Case Manager for sex trafficking survivors for EveryOne Free here in Pomona. We have partnered with EveryOne Free over the years in helping to fight against sex trafficking in LA through the public school trafficking awareness classes Joseph would lead, as well as helping to open up a Justice Center here in Pomona for trafficked women to seek help at. Michelle will now be part of their Diversion Program as their case manager—meeting with survivors to provide resources and help.
Michelle has also recently been part of a six week Case Manager Certification program through the state of California that provides in depth training, analysis, and discussion of the needs of victims and survivors of sex trafficking. It was an intense 6 weeks covering topics such as: public policy/legislation, pimp culture, law enforcement collaboration, history of human trafficking, community referrals, rape trauma and healing, trauma informed care, working with families of victims of child abuse, a survival panel and so much more. We are excited for this new partnership with Michelle as their case manager as it allows her to walk in her passions of ministering to women in pain and helping them to find freedom from sex trafficking and healing through Jesus.
Over 50% of domestically trafficked women and girls are/were runaway or throwaway youth
California harbors 3 of the FBI’s 13 highest child sex trafficking areas of the nation: Los Angeles, San Francisco, San Diego
Thank you for your prayers, support & encouragement to us! We appreciate you so very much. Please let us know if we can be praying for you in anyway as well. We hope you have a wonderful Thanksgiving!
Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; his love endures forever. Psalm 107:1
Joseph recently helped serve locally with the NAMB (North American Mission Board) Assessments. This is a time where church planters are assessed in their church planting readiness in nine essential areas. These are: calling, emotional and spiritual health, family dynamics, vision, leadership, preaching, missional engagement, disciple-making and social skills. Joseph served as a coach for the assessors who are evaluating the qualifications for the church planters. There were 8 couples that we assessed this Fall located throughout Southern California.
During an assessment time of sharing about your calling to plant a church
Joseph with Kirk (NAMB sponsor), and Nam (evaluator of preaching)
Pastor Anthony— an evaluator Joseph coached.
Daniel & Lily—Filipino couple planting a church in the South Bay.
An interactive assessment game time for the church planting couples—on marriage. They then received a gift card to go out to dinner—to value their marriages.
Trenton & Kellie—church planters in downtown LA
At the end there is always a sweet time of prayer—praying over the church planters together.
Restructure of Cru Church Movements
As a part of the National Leadership Team Joseph is helping our ministry, Cru Church Movements, restructure into regions throughout the United States. Because we are growing in size it will serve us better to care for the staff by regions. Joseph and another staff member on the National Leadership Team, Todd, will be the Regional Directors for the West Coast and South Coast regions. They will be overseeing the Cru staff in these regions, shepherding them and partnering with different organizations and denominations to expand the mission. Please pray for this restructure—pray for the staff members who will be challenged to new roles and for more in-person relationships to be developed and a sense of teaming since we will operate in more regional ways. Pray also for wisdom in the complexity of navigating this national restructure.
The National Leadership Team and Advisory Board at a recent planning time.
Everyone is back in school! We moved Daniel into his dorms this past month—a sophomore now but this will be his first year living in the dorms (because of Covid last year). We are so excited for him and he is loving his roommates and college so far! Jessica has also started driving with a permit! How do these kids grow up so fast?
We covet your prayers for our kiddos as they continue to journey into adulthood. Please pray for them to love the Lord deeply and desire to follow Him in all areas of their lives.
Cru City Los Angeles 